


Making Waves

by Ree_Dragon



Series: The Path of the Hero [4]
Category: Splatoon
Genre: F/F, I could tag other things but I think that'd just spoil the story, Love Confessions, come on y'all you knew this would happen eventually
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-10
Updated: 2021-02-10
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:00:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29343219
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ree_Dragon/pseuds/Ree_Dragon
Summary: Pearl decides to confess her feelings after a concert, but the ensuing conversation doesn't go quite as planned...
Relationships: Marina/Pearl (Splatoon)
Series: The Path of the Hero [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1934917
Comments: 6
Kudos: 23





	Making Waves

Pearl’s nerves were shot.

They shouldn’t be. Not really. Concerts were no big at this point. She’d performed at so many, by herself and with Rina, that they were basically part of normal life for her now. Besides, the crowd loved her and Marina - of course they did, they _always_ did - and they’d completely rocked that final number with the Squid Sisters!

The concert was basically done and over with, and Pearl had spent the last twenty minutes in the shower, with the last five spent standing with her forehead against the shower wall, trying to focus on the sensation of the warm ink washing over her in a failed attempt to clear her mind. She didn’t have much longer to stall - she knew Marina would start to worry about now, and worry was the last thing she wanted her bandmate to feel. Especially right now, with what Pearl had planned.

It was Eight’s fault, really. Ever since her “girlfriend” comment a couple months back, Pearl hadn’t been able to stop thinking about the possibility. She’d had the feelings before - back when she and Marina were still getting to know each other, before she learned the other girl was only sixteen and Pearl’s nineteen-year-old self dumped those feelings right in the shitter where they belonged.

Enough time had passed, though. Marina would be nineteen herself in a few months. She no longer depended on Pearl to teach her about everything related to inklings and Inkopolis, so the two of them were easily equals in all respects. Shell, Marina definitely had more actual life experience than Pearl herself, thanks to their respective upbringings.

In other words, there was absolutely nothing morally wrong with it anymore. Between two adults, three years really wasn’t that big a deal, and it’d be even less of a deal the older they got. That realization had brought the crush back with a vengeance. So far, she’d been able to put it aside when she needed to - during splatoon work or when she and Marina were performing or announcing the current splatfest or splattlegrounds. As time passed, though, she found herself getting more and more distracted and frustrated by the idea.

She needed to deal with it before it became a problem, and that meant having a serious talk with Marina. She’d wanted to wait for a good moment - a time when they had nothing planned so she could deal with the aftermath, whether good or bad. The moment hadn’t come, though. Between agent stuff, music stuff, the news, splatfests, and her family obligations, it felt like there were always a handful of important things that needed dealt with immediately.

That was the way of things, at least according to the cap’n. There was always going to be some excuse to put off a talk like this. She needed to just go ahead and do it, and let the night be a really good or a really bad one. Since the time was always going to be bad, why not today? Before it festered to the point where it became a real problem.

Pearl drew in a deep breath, sighed it out, and shut off the shower. She remained as she was for another moment or two, doing her best to summon what courage she could after the excitement of the concert. It was fine. It was gonna be fine. She was pretty sure Marina felt the same way she did, anyway. She was no stranger to the dating scene, and she’d seen those looks the octoling had given her when she thought Pearl wasn’t looking. Plus, some of her friendly banter could easily pass for light flirting. Maybe it was wishful thinking, but Pearl didn’t think so. There was something there. There had to be.

_Right. This is happening. It’s just Marina - I trust her more than anyone. Come on Pearl, this’ll be easy._

Pearl dried off, dressed, and returned to the dressing room. And, sure enough, there was Marina on the couch - frowning, features creased, wringing her hands, and staring right at her. The octoling’s eyes lit up after a moment, though, and the frown lifted into a smile, her posture simultaneously straightening and relaxing.

“Hey Pearlie,” Marina greeted her. “Was the shower warm enough?”

“Shower was fine.” Pearl walked over and sat down beside her, fighting the urge to rest her feet on the coffee table in front of them. She could kick back and relax later, but now was go time - before her courage deserted her and she ended up putting this whole thing off. “Hey, Rina, can we talk for a sec?”

“…Sure, Pearlie.” Shit, there was that worried look again. Marina shifted position so she was halfway facing Pearl, one leg folded over the other and hands clasped in her lap. “What’s on your mind?”

“Nothing bad. I just…” Pearl halted a moment, struggling with the words that were right there on the tip of her tongue. Ugh, why was this hard? She knew what she wanted to say!

 _Then just say it, already!_ Pearl drew in another deep breath and looked up, locking eyes with Marina. As short and direct as possible, right? She could do this. She could do this.

“Our friendship’s everything to me, and I never wanna lose it, but I think we could be more. If you want, I’d love for us to be girlfriends.”

Marina’s hands had moved in front of her mouth as Pearl talked, and her eyes were looking particularly moist. Pearl’s hearts clenched. Crying. Was that…good crying? Bad crying? With Marina, it could go either way.

“Pearlie…I…” Marina’s breath hitched. She swallowed - a pained expression crossing her face and not quite fading after the fact. “I’m so sorry. I…I can’t.”

Oh…ouch. Pearl’s eyes stung, and she did her best to blink back her own tears. She shook her head and gave Marina a smile she hoped looked genuine, reaching out for Marina’s hands.

“Hey, it’s fine. Sometimes people just feel different for each other. No big. I can—”

“We feel the same!” Marina pulled away from Pearl, scooting back to the cushion behind her. The tears had already started rolling down her cheeks, and her gaze was locked on the empty space between them. “I’ve loved you for almost as long as I’ve known you, and I dreamed of us being together for so long…”

 _Wait…what?_ Pearl frowned, moving to regain the eye contact she’d lost and biting back a huff of frustration when Marina turned away. “I don’t get it. If you love me back, what’s the problem?”

Marina made a noise that seemed like it wanted to be a word, but ended up being a sob instead. She glanced toward the door leading out of the dressing room, then toward the shower, and finally seemed to settle for sliding to the floor, arms folded over her knees and face buried in the space within. Her tentacles draped over her shoulders and cascaded gracefully to the floor, the tips curling in on themselves. She was full-on crying now, her breathing ragged and hard enough to make her shoulders shake.

“Rina…” Pearl sniffed, fighting back her own tears in what she knew was a losing battle. This could not have gone worse. Everything in Pearl was exploding and imploding at the same time as she watched her companion - her bandmate, her best friend, the single most important thing in her life - fall apart in front of her. Because of her. She slid off the couch to kneel beside the octoling, wrapping her arms around her. “Hey, it’s okay. You’re okay. We’re okay. Promise. I wanna help, but I need you to talk to me for that.”

“I lied to you!” Marina got out after a few incoherent attempts. “I…you thought I was a squid…I let you…two years, and it only stopped because the captain recognized me. I should have…but I didn’t, and…” A weird sound between laughter and sobbing interrupted her, and she curled even tighter into herself. “I’m such a coward…”

Pearl’s eyes narrowed, and she stared down at the octoling. “Seriously? Rina, we’ve been over this, and I don’t care about—”

“ _I_ do!” Marina lifted her head, meeting Pearl’s gaze willingly for the first time since this damn thing started. There was a fierceness in her eyes that Pearl couldn’t remember ever seeing before, though it went away after a moment, and Marina flinched and returned to hiding her face in her arms. “How can you even love someone who isn’t who you thought they were?”

“Hey…” Pearl moved in front of Marina and rested her forehead against the octoling’s hair. “You’re making a big deal of hiding from me while hiding from me. I need you to look at me.”

It took a long moment, but Marina tilted her head up, just enough to peer at Pearl over her arms. 

That…was good enough, Pearl supposed. “Octoling isn’t who you are, it’s what you are, and it’s nowhere close to everything. You’re my best friend, and you earned that. You’re kind, dedicated, protective of your home and everyone you care about, way too smart for your own good, and you were loyal enough to stick by me even when we seemed to be failing. That is who you are, and nothing else matters.”

Pearl paused, giving Marina a moment to process everything so far while she went over the words she wanted to say next. This was probably the most important talk they’d had this far - she couldn’t afford to fuck it up. “Besides, our species were at war, right? Even if most inklings weren’t aware of it, that’s your reality.” Pearl leaned forward, touching her forehead to Marina’s. “I’m grateful every day that you’re here, and if having you with me means you had to keep quiet about your species for a couple years, then I’m glad you did, because my whole world would shatter if I lost you.”

It happened almost faster than she could blink. One moment, Marina was curled up about as tight as she could manage while remaining upright, and the next they were both half sitting, half laying on the floor, with Marina basically in Pearl’s lap, face buried in her shoulder and arms wrapped painfully tightly around her middle, claws digging into the skin of Pearl’s back. Pearl returned the hold with one hand and stroked the back of the octoling’s head with the other, letting her own tears fall as the love of her life sobbed in her arms.

Eventually, the sobbing subsided, and even Marina’s breathing seemed to return to normal. Her grip loosened, though Pearl continued to feel a slight pricking sensation around Marina’s fingertips. Well, if Marina feeling better meant that Pearl bled a little, then so be it.

“’M sorry…” Marina mumbled into her shoulder.

Pearl gave the other girl a light squeeze. “Don’t be.”

“I really wanted to tell you.” Marina sniffled. “I must have run through a thousand different speeches in my mind, but then I’d rehearse them and they’d sound wrong, or I’d picture your reaction and then I couldn’t…you know. I wanted you to hear it from me, but I couldn’t figure it out.”

Pearl rested her cheek against Marina’s. “I get it. You’re good, Rina. Really. I don’t care about that at all. In the moment, I’d wished I’d heard it from you and not him, but then I learned what was going on and got over it. The important thing’s that you were you and not an act, and you were, and you’re still the best person I know. Cod, Marina, I can’t even imagine what that was like for you…” A lump formed in Pearl’s throat, and she had to pause to swallow it down. “You won’t have to face anything else alone. I’m here. I’ll always be here, no matter what.”

Marina lifted herself off of Pearl, just enough to meet her eyes. “You’re really okay?”

Pearl snorted. “For the last time! Yes, Rina, I’m okay. We’re okay. You’re amazing. I wouldn’t change a single thing about you.”

Marina kept staring at her for a moment or two, and then sighed and all but collapsed against Pearl. “You’re amazinger.”

Amazinger? That was a new one.

“And you’re beat.” Pearl glanced from Marina to the couch. “Let’s get some food in you and get you home.”

Marina slid off Pearl, sitting with her back against the couch. “Pearlie?”

Pearl stood and dusted herself off. “What’s up?”

Marina opened her mouth, faltered, closed it again, and studied her hands for a moment before speaking again. “Do you…” She bit her lip. “Do you still want me? As a girlfriend, I mean.”

Pearl’s hearts seemed to be bouncing off each other and every other organ and support structure in her chest. _Don’t you dare hope._

“’Course I do.” She moved toward Marina, holding out a hand to help her up.

Marina accepted the hand, and - working together - they got her back on the couch. “I’m a mess.”

Pearl grinned. “Me, too.”

Marina’s tentacles started writhing. She grabbed the longest - the long front one - and stroked it idly. “I’ve never been a girlfriend before. Not even close.”

“Doesn’t bother me.” Pearl sat beside the octoling. “We have the rest of our lives. We can take this as slow as you want.”

“And you’re sure there’s no one else you’d rather be with?” Marina didn’t quite meet her gaze.

“No one.” Pearl wrapped her arms around Marina. “You’re the best and most important person in my life. You know that. No one’s ever compared with you.”

“And you’re the best and most important in mine.” Marina sniffled again. “I don’t know how this works. Are we official now?”

Pearl gave the octoling a gentle squeeze. “As long as you wanna be.”

Marina wiped at her eyes. “I—”

“Pizza party in our dressing room!” Callie’s voice damn near shocked Pearl’s soul out of her skin, and she swore she felt the building shake for a second. Her head snapped toward the dressing room door as it slammed open, revealing the dark-tentacled Squid Sister. “Marie says I can’t eat three whole pizzas in one night if I wanna watch my figure, so I…” She trailed off, eyes widening as she stared at them. “…Are you two all right?”

…This seemed really bad, didn’t it? Marina definitely looked like a wreck, and Pearl was sure she didn’t look much better. Ah well. “All good now, Callie. You guys got pizza for us?”

“Uh…yeah.” Callie rubbed the back of her head, chuckling nervously. “I’ll…uh…I’ll be right out here when you’re…ready…yeah…” She backed out of the room, closing the door behind her.

Pearl glared at the door. “That timing sucked _all_ the ass.”

Marina giggled, and Pearl found herself smiling. This time, it really felt like they were okay. Better than okay. Better than ever.

“I do want to be your girlfriend.” Marina was smiling, now, and the teal in her cheeks was nearly bright enough to match her hair. She’d smiled countless times in Pearl’s presence, but this time - even with the puffy red eyes and tear-stained cheeks - was the most beautiful she’d ever been. “I love you, Pearlie. More than anything.”

“I love you too…girlfriend.” That was going to take so much getting used to, and Pearl was going to love every moment of it. She slid off the couch and held her hand out to Marina once more. “Come on, let’s get cleaned up. Then I guess we gotta save Callie from her appetite.”

Marina nodded and took the offered hand, allowing Pearl to pull her back into a standing position. “Lead the way, girlfriend.”

Laughing, the pair - bandmates, best friends, and now lovers - went to do just that, washing away the pains of the past and then joining their fellow musicians for some much-deserved celebration.

**Author's Note:**

> Just in time for Valentine's Day! I swear that wasn't planned, but here we are.
> 
> You know how I spent like half a year trying to continue this series? This particular fic was written in a single morning. XD Inspiration is a funny thing. I've actually been sitting on it for a little while, but I wanted to get my drabbles all published before I moved on.
> 
> The next story might take me a while. I don't want to spoil anything, but it's a chapter fic (at least 15 chapters planned), and I'd like to get far enough along that I know it's actually gonna work before I start posting. If it takes too long I may do another drabble or ficlet collection so I'm still giving y'all something, but we'll see.


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